Refuse compacting vehicle body



P 15, 1964 E. R. BQECK ETAL 3,148,786

REFUSE COMPACTING VEHICLE BODY Filed May 11, 1960 s Sheets-Sheet sINVENTORS ELLSWORTH R. BOECK a ROBERT J. WALTER ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Office 1 3,148,786 Patented Sept. 15, 19643,143,786 REFUSE COMPACTWG VEHICLE BODY Ellsworth R. Boeek, Buffalo, andRobert J. Walter, Kenmore, N.Y., assignors to Truck Equipment Co., Inc.,Buffalo, N.Y. Filed May 11, 1960, Ser. No. 28,339 Claims. (Cl. 21482)This invention relates to refuse collection vehicles and particularly toimprovements in refuse collection vehicle bodies of the so-called packertype.

Packer bodies or compaction bodies for refuse collecting andtransporting vehicles are in general use in the refuse collection fieldand one form of packer body has side doors near the front of the bodyfor introducing refuse and a packer plate which moves rearwardly withinthe body to compact refuse toward the rear of the body. The refuse isemptied from the body by opening a rear door and ejecting the refuse byfurther operation of the rearwardly movable packer plate.

The refuse packer body of the present invention is of the foregoinggeneral type and presents a number of important improvements inconstruction and operation of such apparatus. In the form shown hereinby way of example the packer body comprises generally a hollow cylinderand the construction and arrangement of the body itself and the packerplate mounting and moving means in such as to provide maximum strength,relative freedom from distortion due to loading and packing forces, andall-around efliciency and economy in the design of the body per se andthe various operating components, mainly the packer plate and itsoperating means and the cooperating rear door employed in ultimatelyejecting the contents of the body.

Since large side door openings are desirable at both sides of theforward portion of the cylindrical packer body, the portions of the bodyforwardly of and rearwardly of the side doors are almost completelyseparated by the door openings and accordingly a particular problem inmaintaining accurate shape and alignment of the body as a whole ispresented.

This problem is very substantially. aggravated by the fact that in adesirable arrangement of the apparatus the drive means for the packerplate is carried by the forward portion of the body while the packerplate itself operates principally in the rear portion of the body andaccordingly the reaction forces tend markedly to distort the shape andthe relative alignment of the forward and rear body parts.

The body design of the packer body of thepresent invention and themanner in which the packing forces are absorbed thereby is a verysubstantial improvement over packer body arrangements of the prior art.The cylindrical body includes a novel skeletal structural arrangementwhich absorbs the major stresses and reaction forces incident to thepacking operation independently of the body shell itself and in such away that these forces are transmitted substantially directly to theframe of the vehicle which carries the body.

In addition to the novel structural and physical arrangement of thepacker body and the reciprocating packer plate, the present inventionprovides novel hydraulic operation of the packer plate and the unloadingor ejecting door at hte rear of the body and provides a novel operatingand control arrangement for these instrumentalities.

It is an object of the present invention to provide hydraulic powercompacting means comprising a single acting hydraulic piston andcylinder arrangement for operating the packer plate in a compactingdirection with a separate relatively short stroke hydraulic powerelement for effecting quick return of the packer plate. This V a quickertime cycle of operation by reason of the quick return power arrangement.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel bodyconstruction and a novel relationship of the fixed structural membersthereof whereby the very considerable forces engendered by thecompacting operation are borne and distributed in a manner which avoidsundue distortion of the body shell. As will appear later herein,independent structural elements are provided whereby the compactingpressure of the packer plate and more particularly the reaction. forceof the hydraulic power device which motivates the packer plate, aretrans mitted to the frame of the vehicle which carries the body more orless. directly and without subjecting the body shell itself to harmfulstresses which would otherwise tend to distort the same to a degreewhich might actually interfere with proper reciprocation of the packerplate.

This question of body distortion, particularly in the case of acylindrical packer body is rendered acute by reason of the factthat theside doors at opposite sides of the body extend from the top of the bodydown to the chassis which supports the same so that apart from the novelskeletal structure referred to earlier herein the body is virtuallydivided into two portions, one lying forwardly of the'side doorstructure and the other rearwardly thereof, and it is necessary in thenormal operation that the packer plate pass from one of these portionsto the other during compacting and return movements,

A further improvement of the packer body of the present inventionresides in an arrangement whereby the 'packer plate may be movedrearwardly and projected to a position beyond the confines of the packerbody proper with the rear door in an open position whereby the entireinterior of the body may be cleaned and resultant debris may be sweptout of the rear end thereof with the packer plate in its rearmostposition beyond the body proper.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novelcontour relationship between the packer plate and the rear door orclosure whereby packing operation tends to raise the material betweenthe packer plate and the rear door and thus tends to fill the packingspace more completely and more densely and thus makes for a greater payload than in conventional packers wherein the density of the packedrefuse is very much greater at the bottom of the load than" at upperportions.

Various other objects and advantages of the refuse packer bodyconstruction and arrangement of the present invention will appear tothose skilled in this art from a study of the exemplary embodimentdepicted in the accompanying drawings and are referred to in the ensuingdescription.

A single embodiment ofthe principles of the present invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in detail in thefollowing specification but it is to be understood that-such embodimentis by way of example and illustration only and that the principles ofthe invention are not limite'd to this embodiment nor otherwise than asdefined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a general side elevational view of one form of the refusepacker body of the present invention with portions thereof broken awayfor added illustration;

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view on the line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view on the lineIll-III of FIG. 1

' FIG. 4 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view takenapproximately on theline IV.IV of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view takenapproximately on theline V-V of FIG. 3.

Like characters of reference denote like parts throughout the severalfigures of the drawings. In the refuse packer body which is illustratedherein to exemplify the principles of the present invention a main bodyor shell structure is designated generally by the numeral 20 andcomprises a plurality of arcuately formed metal sheets or plates 21which are welded or otherwise secured to various connecting andreinforcing rings which are of angle iron cross-section and aredesignated, from front to rear of the body in FIG. 1, by the numerals 22through 28. A relatively heavy ring member 29 is welded to the rear endof the body shell to form a seat for a rear door component designatedgenerally in FIG. 1 by the numeral 30.

A track 31 in the form of an I-beam is attached to the interior wall atthe top of body structure 20 to give guiding support to the upperportion of a longitudinally movable packer plate designated generally bythe numeral 32 and track 31 extends rearwardly beyond body 2% into thegenerally convex rear door 30 as indicated in FIG. 1.

An external reinforcing member 33 of T-shape in crosssection in thepresent instance, extends along the top of body structure 20,principally for additional reinforcement of the forward portion of thebody structure and incidentally to provide a trackway for side doorstructure which will be described later herein. Member 33 is welded tothe upper surface of track 31 to be substantially integral therewith.

It will be noted by reference to FIG. 2 that a pair of longitudinallyextending half round members 34 at the interior of the body structureprovide rails or track-ways for lower rollers 35 provided at the base ofpacker plate 32 and a pair of external longitudinal angle members 36provide ledges which seat upon the longitudinal rail or channel members37 of a conventional motor truck chassis upon which the packer body ofthe present invention is mounted. If desired, vertical side plates maybe welded across the outer surfaces of the angle members 36 and framechannel members 37 to fix these members permanently to each other.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the packer plate 32 comprises apair of spaced generally circular plate members 41 and 42 held in rigidspaced relation.

by intervening structural members indicated generally at 43, the wholebeing welded to form an integral rigid packer plate weldment. The fixedwelded structure of packer plate 32 includes an upper centrallongitudinal channel member 43 and a pair of lower longitudinal channelmembers 46.

A pair of longitudinally spaced flanged rollers 48 mounted withinchannel member 45 engage along track and lower half round tracks 34-extend rearwardly beyond the body shell and into the convex rear door topermit the packer plate to be moved rearwardly until its rear portionprojects beyond the body shell to facilitate cleaning the interior ofthe latter. k

The rear door 39 has side wall portions 56 which comprise cylindricalcontinuations of the body shell 20 and a rear wall 57 which is curvedoutwardly as viewed in side elevation in FIG. 1. The rear wall 57 doesnot require compound curvature but merely comprises a fiat plate bent tothe contour shown in FIG. 1. However, its intersection with therearwardly extending cylindrical wall portions 56 give the door agenerally convex exterior surface. a p

This contour of rear door 30 cooperates with the flar ing lower wallportion 50 of the packer plate'32 so that rearward movement of thepacker plate with the door closed tends to feed the refuse upwardlywhereby the packed refuse fills the interior of the body moreefiiciently than if this upward camming action on the refuse did nottake place.

The usual packing action in conventional compactionincrease the pay loadof the body.

31 and longitudinally spaced rollers rotatably mounted within the lowerchannel members 46 have previously been designated 35. Rollers 35 havetheir peripheries concaved to track along the half round members 34. Itwill be noted that the lower portion of the rear wall of packer plate 32has an outwardly flaring wall portion 50 which exerts a material raisingcomponent of force on the refuse as the packer plate moves rearwardlyand this force cooperates with the particular contour of the rear door30, as will appear later herein.

I A relatively wide channel member 51 extends obliquely from the forwardportion of upper channel member 45 to a generally central portion of thepacker plate structure generally to stiffen the structure. The lower endof the channel member 51 cooperates in forming an enclosure 53 whichincludes bearing means 54 for pivotal engagement with the small end of aseries of telescoping piston and cylinder members designated generallyand collectively by the numeral 55.

Both plate members 41 and 42 of the packer plate are perforated asindicated at 52 in FIG. 3 so that air is readily released from therefuse as it is being compacted.

It will be noted from FIG. 1 that the upper track 31 which are pivotedas at 62 in FIG. 1 for door opening and closing movements. The door 33naturally gravitates toward a closed position and is opened by a pair ofoppositely disposed hydraulic cylinders 63 which are pivoted at one endof each to opposite sides of the body shell 20 as at 64 and have slottedmembers 65 at the outer ends of their piston rods which engage pins 66projecting from opposite sides of the door 30. Control of the operationof the door raising cylinders 63 will'be described later herein inconjunction with related operation of the hydraulic components.

The means for latching the lower portion of door 30 in closed positionwill now be described. Since this latching means bears the full force ofthe compacting pressure of packer plate 32 it is obvious that secure andrigid latching must be assured. C-shaped latching members 70 are pivotedto the rear portion of body shell 20 at opposite sides thereof as at 71and the opposite ends of the latching members 7d are provided withrollers 72 which are adapted to engage over a radial flange 74 whichextends about door 30 and thus clamp door flange 74 to the ring member29 at the rear of body shell 20. The seating surface for rollers 72 onflange 74 may be inclined or curved so that the rollers cam or wedge theflange 74 against ring member 29 during latching operation.

Means are provided for controlling the condition of the latch members 7%from a position substantially forwardly of the rear of the body forreasons of general convenience and more especially since unloadingoperations frequently take place with the rear of the body extendingover the edge of a pit or other declivity. In the illustrated instance alongitudinal control rod 77 at one side of the body controls thecondition of both clamp members 70, as will now appear.

7 The forward end of control rod 77 is provided with a rack formation 78and is guided for longitudinal movement in mesh with a pinion (notshown) which is coaxial with and carried by a hand-wheel 79. Thusrotation of the handwheel 79 moves the control rod 77 selectivelyforwardly and rearwardly. A removable locking pin may be provided forpreventing operation of the handwheel '79 or longitudinal movement ofcontrol rod 77 when the latch members 70 are in latching position,excepting by deliberate removal or release of the locking pm.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 4, particularly the latter, a pair of rockshafts 8t) and 81 extend obliquely beneath body 20 and are supported byhearing brackets 82, 83 and 84 mounted at the under side of body 20. Theinner adjacent ends of the rock shafts 80 and 81 are provided with fixedoffset bearing brackets 86 and the end portions of a bent shaft member87 are disposed rotatably in the bearing brackets 86. Thus the rockshafts 8i and 81 are connected for joint rotation and the outer end ofrock shaft 80 is provided with a rock arm 91), the outer end of which ispivotally connected to the rear end of control rod 77.

The rock shafts 86 and 81 are provided with rock arms 91 and links 92are pivoted at their opposite ends to the outer ends of the rock arms 91and to projecting lugs 93 on each of the C-shaped latching members 71From the above it will be seen that rotation of handwheel 79 in aclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 will move control rod 77rearwardly and thus rotate the rock shafts 80 and 81 in a. clockwisedirection and swing the latching members 7 clockwisely to openpositions.

It will further be noted that the nature of the G-shaped latchingmembers is such that,-when closed, the ring 29 of the body 20 and theflange 74 of the rear door 30 are clamped directly between the ends ofthe latching members 7&3 themselves and that all rearward forces tendingto open the door 36 are absorbed directly by the latching members 70 andare not transmitted to the foregoing control linkage. Furthermore, inclosed position the rock arms 91 and links 92 move at least to andpreferably slightly past dead center position so that any tendency ofthe latching members 719 to move toward open position inadvertently isprevented.

The compacting forces tending to distort the door 30 are verysubstantial and to further guard against distortion thereof dowel meansare preferably provided. While P16. 4 is a cross section of body member20 looking forward, the ring 29 at the rear of body 21 is shown in dotand dash lines and three dowel openings therein are indicated in dot anddash lines at 94. Three dowels carried by flange 74 of rear door 30enter the openings 94 when door 30 is closed.

Reference will now be had. to the side doors which are provided forintroducing the refuse material and in this connection it will be notedthat the side door openings at opposite sides of the body shell 20 arelocated near the forward end thereof between the angle iron reinforcingrings 23 and 24 which encircle the body shell. The base flanges of therings 23 and 24 extend toward each other and provide ledges or seats forthe door mernbers. The side door openings extend from the top center ofbody shell 29 down each side thereof to a pair of longitudinal anglemembers 95 which are welded to the interior of the body shell as clearlyshown in FIG. 2 and preferably extend the full length of the body shellto assist in reinforcing and stiffening the same. The members 95 definethe bottom edges of the side door openings and serve as door sillmembers.

The door openings are each adapted to be closed by upper door membersdesignated generally by the numeral 96 and lower door members designatedgenerally by the numeral 98. In the illustrated embodiment each upperdoor 96 comprises a rectangular frame 99 of tubular members arched asviewed in FIG. 2 to conform generally to the curvature of the bodyshell, and a plate member 100 welded to the frame 99 as shown in FIG. 2.

In closed position each upper door 96 rests substantially between theoutstanding flanges of the rings 23 and 24, particularly as to the lowerportions thereof, as

shown at the left hand side of FIG. 2. The upper doors are thusprotected against becoming dislodged by engagement with obstructionsalongside the vehicle as the latter moves along. Along its upper edgeeach door 9-6 is welded to an inverted channel 192 which engages overrollers 103 carried by the web portion of T-shapedmember 33 and furtheron rollers 104 along member 33 retain the channels 102 in trackingengagement with the rollers 103..

The rolling connection thus provided is 'such as to permit limitedpivotal movementof the door between the rollers 1113 and 104 about ahorizontal axis so that the lower portion thereof may be moved outwardlyas shown at the right-hand side of FIG. 2 whereupon the door may bemoved freely along the body in a rearward direction to entirely exposethe upper portion of the door opening. A roller 1% mounted against thebody shell just rearwardly of the door opening supports the lowerportion of the door for free horizontal rolling opening and closingmovements.

The lower door members 98 are arranged to open by arcuate downwardmovement and means are provided for opening the lower doors toselectively variable degrees whereby the effective lower edge of thedoor opening may be chosen to suit various conditions such as curbheight, the size and type of receptacles or articles to be introduced,and various other working conditions.

Each lower door 98 comprises a pair of arcuate panel portions 110 and111 hinged to each other as shown at 112 in FIG. 1. The upper portion110 of each door 98 has a tubular formation 113 along its upper edge andthe lower portion 111: has a tubular formation 114 along .of the truckchassis. accomplished without interfering with the rigidity and itslower edge. These lower door portions are guided for arcuate movementalong the surface of body 20 by flange members 115 welded to the outeredges of the angle rings 23 and 24 to form facing guide channels.

As each lower door 98 moves downwardly toward its lowermost position thelower portion 111 thereof swings downwardly between the lower ends ofthe guide flange members 115 and the longitudinal angle members 36 whichsupport the body 20 on the channel members 37 Thus full opening movementis integrity of the body and chassis supporting and connectingstructure.

Similar latching devices may be employed for both the upper and lowerdoors 96 and 98. Referring to FIG. 1, manual operating members arepivoted centrally to the doors 96 and 98 and oppositely extending latchbars 121 pivoted thereto extend through the side framing portions of thedoors and into registering perforations in the rings 23 and 24. As shownat 122 in FIG. 2, a plurality of spaced perforations 122 are providedfor lower door 96 to permit the aforementioned adjustable openingthereof. Coil springs 124 bias the bars 121 and the operating members120 to latching positions illustrated in FIG. 1.

Ajustable platform or step devices are provided at opposite sides of thebody for use in emptying material into the body and the platformsthereof are positionally adjustable for cooperation with the varyingdegrees of lower side door opening. Furthermore, the arrangement ofthese platform devices is such that they move outwardly as they areadjusted upwardly, so that the step position is conveniently locatedwith respect to the wall of the body for various degrees of lower dooropening and related platform or step position.

Referring to FIG. 2, one of the platform or step devices is illustratedat the lower left-hand side thereof, but it is to be understood that thestep construction is duplicated at the other side of the body and isomitted vin FIG. 2 merely for ease of illustration. 7 A platform or stepmember is designated and the opposite ends thereof are coaxially pivotedto the lower ends of a pair of arms 131 as at 132, the upper ends of thearms 131 being pivoted as at 133 to brackets 134 attached to body 20 atopposite sides of each side door opening.

Brackets 136 extend upwardly from each end of platform 130 and links 137are .pivoted at their opposite ends to brackets 134 and 136 to form aparallelogram linkage 'as is well known.

ensures 7 whereby the platform 130 is mounted for swinging movement,while maintaining a horizontal position, from the lowered positionshownin dot and dash lines in FIG. 2 to a first raised position shown infull lines and to further raised positions as desired or required.

A releasable locking pin 141! extends through the end of platform 13dand into any one of a series of arcuately arranged perforations 141 inarm 131. for securing the platform in its dot and dash line position ofnon-use or any of its various positions of use, the lowermost of thelatter being illustrated in FIG. 2.

It will be noted by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 that a pair of sawtoothplate members 145 are attached substantially medially to opposite sidesof the interior of the body 20 to project obliquely upwardly andinwardly, the packer plate 32 being slotted as shown in FIG. 2 to clearthe same. These plate members are provided to assist in preventing fallback of the packed contents of the body as the packer plate withdrawstherefrom, particularly when the body reaches a condition where it isfairly well filled.

Reference will now be had to the power operation portion of theapparatus, particularly the power means for operating the packer platein opposite directions and, incidentally, to the control of the powercylinder 63 which raises .the rear door. In this connection referencewill be had principally to FIG. 3. However, it will first be noted thatan outboard bracket weldrnent 146 extends forwardly from the upperportion of body 29 and is welded and connected in such manner as tocomprise substantially a rigid forward continuation of track 31 andT-shaped member 33.

The telescoping hydraulic piston and cylinder component previouslyidentified generally by the numeral 55 is pivoted to bracket 146 as at147 in FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, a solid rigid bar 150 iswelded between the longitudinal angle members 36 and to the insides ofthe bottom flanges thereof and is thus virtually connected directly tothe chassis of the vehicle independently of the body structuregenerally. A pair of obliquely extending laterally spaced bars 151 arewelded to the bar 150 at their lower ends and to the outboard bracket146 at their upper ends and thus transmit the reaction forces oftelescoping piston and cylinder assembly 55 directly to the vehicleframe with a minimum of strain or distortion of the body structure.

Gusset plates 152 and 153 reinforce the connection of oblique bars 151with horizontal bar 150 as shown in FIG. 3. The front end of body 2 isgenerally open excepting for a front wall member which extends upwardlyto the level of the side door sill forming angle members 95. A pair ofvertical angle members 155 stiffen the front end of body and cooperatewith bars 151 to form a truss-like front end reinforcement.

As indicated earlier herein, the telescoping piston assembly 55 is ofthe single acting hydraulic type and is employed only to move packerplate 32 rearwardly in a packing directionby expansion of the multiplepiston and cylinder assembly. A relatively small, lower powered, quickacting hydraulic cylinder shown at 160 in FIG. 3 is employed to efiectquick return movement of the packer plate 32 to an extreme forwardposition where it lies substantially at the forward edges of thesidedoor openings.

A pump for activating both power cylinder mechanisms 55 and 161i andalso the rear door cylinders 63 is incorporated in the motor vehiclepower plant as is conventional for various purposes, the pump beingdriven by a power take-off from the vehicle engine. Accordingly, thehydraulic pressuresupply pump is not shown.

This pump is connectible and disconnectible at will with respect to thepower source from the cab of the truck, In FIG. 3 the hydraulic pressureline from the aforesaid pump is designated 162 and the fluid return lineto the inlet side of the pump is designated 163.

In FIG. 3 the numeral 165 designates a fluidreservoir which dischargesto the intake side of the pump through conduit 163 and the numeral 166designates a conventional four-way valve which is normally biasedinternally by spring means to a neutral position and which is shiftablemanually from neutral to either of two operating positions by verticalmovement of a shifting bar 167 which in the pres'ent instance iscontrolled by a pivoted link 168. Valves of this type are availablecommercially and the internal structure need not be described. Forpurposes of making a full disclosure it may be noted that one valvesuitable for present purposes is sold by Commercial Shearing dz StampingCo. as No. UB07-B22-D-2l-Zl.

As in the case of the telescopic cylinder 55, the hydraulic returncylinder 160 is likewise single acting and is adapted to return thepacker plate 32 to its forward limit osition upon application ofhydraulic pressure through a conduit 17% by downward movement or" apiston rod 171.

The construction and operation of the quick return cylinder transmissionmeans is as follows, referencebeing had to FIGS. 3 and 5. A block isfixed to cylinder 169 and a block 176 is fixed to the lower end ofpiston rod 171 and each of these blocks carries three idler pulleysoriented as shown in FIG. 5 wherein the direction to the rightis thedirection toward the rear of the packer body. The three pulleys mountedon upper fixed block 175 are designated 178, 179 and 18%) and the threepulleys mounted on the lower vertically reciprocable block 176 aredesignated 181, 182 and 183.

A chain or cable 185 is fixed at one end to a bracket 1% carried by thefixed block 175 of cylinder 160 and thence passes downwardly aboutpulley 181, upwardly over pulley 1'78, downwardly about pulley 182,upwardly over pulley 179, downwardly about pulley 133, then over pulley13d and rearwardly to connection with the wall of packer plate 32. Thedifferential pulley action thus provided results in quick withdrawal ofpacker plate from its most rearward position to its forward withdrawnposition. This movement of course forcibly discharges hydraulic fluidfrom telescopic cylinder assembly 55 to reservoir 165 in a manner whichwill presently appear.

A bypass valve assembly designated generally by the numeral is mountedupon reservoir 165 and comprises upper and lower chambers 191 and 192normally closed with respect to each other by a gravity seated ballvalve 193. Lower chamber 192leads directly downwardly to reservoir 165.A piston member 194 mounted in lower chamber 192 is adapted to be movedupwardly to unseat ball valve 193 whenever hydraulic pressure is presentin a conduit 195 which leads thereto from four-way valve 166,conduit-195 having a common communication with thefour-way valve withthe conduit 170 leading therefrom to the upper end of the hydraulicpacker plate return cylinder 160. i

The conduit 163 which leads to the intakeside of the aforementionedhydraulic pressure pump is in open communication with the bottom ofreservoir and a further conduit 197 from the bottom of reservoir 165leads to another of the ports of the four-way valve 166. One of theoutlet ports of valve 166 is connected to the upper chamber 151 ofbypass valve 190 by a conduit 200 and a continuation conduit 291 fromchamber 191 leads to the telescopic cylinder assembly 55.

When four-way valve 166 is in its normal neutral posi tion the portsthereof connecting with the conduits 162 and 197 are in communicationand the other ports of the valve are blocked. Consequently output fromthe pump, if it is in operation, is bypassed to reservoir 165 and theother outlet ports of valve 166 are blocked.

Movement of four-way valve 166 to its operating posi are pivotallyconnected at their inner ends to the lower end of one arm of a bellcrank 205 which is pivoted to a bracket 206 carried by the one of thevertical angle members 155. The other arm of bell crank 205 connectspivotally with the upper end of the valve shifting link 1168.

When one of the control rods 203 is pulled or pushed to rock bell crank295 so as to lower the link 168 and valve shifting bar 167, the valveinlet port connecting with pressure conduit 162 is connected with theport leading to conduit 200, thence through the upper chamber 191 ofbypass valve 190 and through conduit 201 to the upper end of telescopichydraulic cylinder and piston means 55. At this time ball 193 is seatedand held seated by the pressure in chamber 191, thus the cylinder andpiston assembly 55 expands and moves the packer plate 32 forciblyrearwardly in body 20.

Assuming rear door 30 to be closed and latched, refuse will thus becompacted until a predetermined limit pressure is reached, whereupon aninternal relief valve in four-way valve 166 opens and bypasses furtherflow of fluid from conduit 162 to bypass conduit 197. In the presentinstance and with the valve above specified, this relief valve operationwill take place at 1100 pounds per square inch pressure.

Similar relief valve operation will take place if there is no refuse inthe body and the packer plate moves rearwardly against the rear door311. If rear door 30 is open during the foregoing rearward movement ofpacker plate 32, the contents of the body 20 will be ejected through theopen rear end of the body.

Continuation of'rearward movement of the packer plate as aforesaidrequires that the particular control rod 2113 be held in operatingposition since if manual pressure is removed the neutral bias of valve166 will automatically restore valve shifting bar 167 and the connectedlinkage to neutral position with the pump output bypassed to reservoir165.

To return the packer plate 32 to a forward position either of thecontrol rods 203 is operated in an opposite direction to rock bell crank255 and thus raise the valve shifting bar 167 and in this position thevalve connects the inlet valve port of pressure conduit 162 to the portwhich jointly supplies conduits 170 and 195 and simultaneously blocksthe port which leads to conduit 2130. Thus operating hydraulic fluidpressure is applied to the top of return cylinder 160 to move the pistonrod 171 downwardly and thus withdraw the packer plate to the front ofthe body by operation of the differential pulley and chain arrangementpreviously described.

At the same time hydraulic fiuid pressure is applied beneath piston 194of the bypass valve 199 through conduit 195 which lifts ball valve 193from its seat so that hydraulic fluid forced from the telescopiccylinder assembly 55-by this return movement of the packer plate flowsthrough conduit 2151 and the chambers 191 and 192 of bypass valve 1% toreservoir 165 where it returns by gravity to the intake side of the pumpthrough conduit 163 as needed.

A relatively small capacity conduit 207 connects from the upper end ofreturn cylinder 160 to the reservoir 165 to permit a regulated amount offluid from the conduit 170 when the same is under pressure to bleed backto the reservoir. This regulates the speed with which the packer plateis returned and also reduces the operating pressure applied to therelatively small return cylinder 160.

The rear door cylinders 63 are powered by pressure from a conduit 269which is in open communication with pressure conduit 162 as at 2111 andleads to a manual valve 212 and from valve 212 through conduit means 213to the two rear door cylinders.

Valve 212 is normally held closed by a coil spring 215 and is adapted tobe manually opened by means of a handle 216 preferably disposed at thefront of body 20 near' one of the packer plate control rods 203. Thusthe rear door cylinders 63 may be powered for door opening movement bymanual operation of handle 216 whenever packing plate 32 is beingoperated by either telescopic cylinder assembly 55 or return cylinder1611.

When the four-way valve 166 is in neutral position and fluid is merelybeing bypassed thereby pressure in conduit 162 will be insufficient tomaintain the door in a raised position and accordingly if manual valve212 is held open during such period the door will gravitate to closedposition at a moderate speed, expelling its hydraulic fluid back throughconduits 213 and 209 to conduit 162.

Of course if valve 212 is closed while the door is in a raised positionby release of handle 216 the fluid column between valve 212 and thepistons of the door cylinders 63 will maintain the door in raisedposition.

We claim:

1. Ina refuse compacting vehicle body, a longitudinally extending body,means adjacent to an end thereof for introducing refuse thereinto,compacting plate means movable from said end toward the opposite end tocompact the refuse toward said opposite end, expansible single-actingfluid pressure piston and cylinder means acting between said end of saidbody and said compacting plate means for moving the latter forcibly in arefuse compacting direction, a second relatively short stroke piston andcylinder means, and motion multiplying means acting between said secondpiston and cylinder means and said compacting plate means for effectingreturn movement of said compacting plate means to said end of said body.

2. In a refuse compacting vehicle body, a longitudinally extending body,means adjacent to an end thereof for introducing refuse thereinto,compacting plate means movable from said end toward the opposite end tocompact the refuse toward said opposite end, extensible singleactingfluid pressure piston and cylinder means acting between said end of saidbody and said compacting plate means for moving the latter forcibly in arefuse compact ing direction, a second relatively lower fluid volumequick acting piston and cylinder means connecting with said compactingplate means for effecting return movement of said compacting plate meansto said end of said body.

3. In a refuse compacting vehicle body, a longitudinally extending body,means adjacent to an end thereof for introducing refuse thereinto,compacting plate means movable from said end toward the opposite end tocom pact the refuse toward said opposite end, expansible single-actingfluid pressure piston and cylinder means acting between said end of saidbody and said compacting plate means for moving the latter forcibly in arefuse compacting direction, a second relatively short stroke piston andcylinder means including a projecting piston rod, differential pulleyscarried by said last mentioned cylinder means and said piston rod and aflexible member extending about said pulleys and to said compactingplate means whereby projection of said piston rod from said secondcylinder withdraws said packing plate to said end of said body.

4. In a refuse compacting vehicle body, a longitudinally extending body,means adjacent to an end thereof for introducing refuse thereinto,compacting plate means movable from said end toward the opposite end tocompact the refuse toward said opposite end, piston and cylinder meansacting between said end of said body and said compacting plate means formoving the latter forcibly in a refuse compacting direction, a secondpiston and cylinder means for effecting return movement of saidcompacting plate means, control valve means and a source of fluidpressure leading thereto, a return circuit to said fluid pressuresource, conduits from said valve means to each of said piston andcylinder means and a third conduit therefrom comprising a bypass conduitto said return circuit, said valve being biased to normally connect saidfluid pressure source to said bypass conduit, and means for selectivelyshifting said valve to connect ensures l l said fluid pressure source toeither of said piston and cylinder means and simultaneously connect theother piston and cylinder means to said return circuit.

5. In a refuse compacting vehicle body, a longitudinally extending body,means adjacent to an end thereof for introducing refuse thereinto,compacting plate means movable from said end toward the opposite end tocompact the refuse toward said opposite end, piston and cylinder meansacting between said end of said body and said compacting plate means formoving the latter forcibly in a refuse compacting direction, a secondrelatively short stroke piston and cylinder means and motion multiplyingmeans connecting the-same to said compacting plate means for efiectingreturn movement of the latter, control valve means and a source of fluidpressure leading thereto, a return circuit to said fluid pressuresource, conduits from said valve means to each of said piston andcylinder means and a third conduit therefrom comprising a bypass conduitto said return circuit, said valve being biased to normally connect saidfluid pressure source to said bypass conduit, and means for selectivelyshifting said valve to connect said fluid pressure source to either ofsaid piston and cylinder means and simultaneously connect the otherpiston and cylinder means to said return circuit.

6. In a refuse compacting vehicle body, a longitudinaily extending body,means adjacent to an end thereof for introducing refuse thereinto,compacting plate means movable from said end toward the opposite end tocompact the refuse toward said opposite end, piston and cylindcr meansacting between said end of said body and said compacting plate means formoving the latter forcibly in a refuse compacting direction, a secondrelatively lower volume quick acting piston and cylinder means foreffecting return movement of said compacting plate means, control valvemeans and a source of fluid pressure leading thereto, a return circuitto said fluid pressure source, conduits from said valve means to each ofsaid piston and cylinder means and a third conduit therefrom comprisinga bypass conduit to said return circuit, said valve being biased tonormally connect said fluid pressure source to said bypass conduit, andmeans for selectively shifting said valve to connect said fluid pressuresource to either of said piston and cylinder means and simultaneouslyconnect the other piston and cylinder means to said return circuit. a

7. In a refuse compacting and transporting vehicle including a pair oflaterally spaced longitudinally extending chassis frame members, agenerally cylindrical horizontally extending body shell, rigidhorizontal central beam means extending along the top of said shell andprojecting forwardly thereof, a pair of longitudinally ex-g tendingreinforcing members fixed to the undersides of said shell in alignmentwith said frame members for attachment thereto, side door openingsextending down the sides of said shell from said top horizontal beammember substantially dividing said shell into forward and rearwardportions, packer plate means guided for longitudinal movement in saidshell, a rigid transverse brace member extending between saidreinforcing members in the vicinity of said door openings, oblique bracemembers connecting rigidly between said forwardly projecting beam meansand said transverse brace member, and expansible hydraulic piston andcylinder means acting between said forwardly projecting beam portion andsaid packer plate means to drive the latter rearwardly to compact refusein said body.

8. In a refuse compacting and transporting vehicle including a pair oflaterally spaced longitudinally extending chassis frame members, agenerally cylindrical horizontally extending body shell, rigidhorizontal central beam means extending along the top of said shell andhaving a bearing formation at the forward end thereof, a pair oflongitudinally extending reinforcing members fixed to the undersides ofsaid shell in alignment with said l2 frame members for attachmentthereto, side door openings extending down the sides of said shell fromsaid top horizontal beam member substantially dividing said shell intoforward and rearward portions, packer plate means ided for longitudinalmovement in said shell, oblique brace members connecting rigidly betweenthe forward end of said beam means and said longitudinally extendingreinforcing members to connect said bearing formation substantiallydirectly to said chassis frame members, and expansible hydraulic pistonand cylinder means connecting at one end to said bearing formation andat the other to said packer plate means to drive the latter rearwardlyto compact refuse in said body.

9. In a refuse compacting and transporting vehicle including a pair oflaterally spaced longitudinally extending chassis frame members, agenerally cylindrical horizontally extending body shell, rigidhorizontal central beam means extending along the top of said shell andhaving a bearing formation at the forward end thereof, a pair oflongitudinally extending reinforcing members fixed to the undersides ofsaid shell in alignment with said frame members for attachment thereto,side door openings extending down the sides of said shell from said tophorizontal beam member substantially dividing said shell into forwardand rearward portions, packer plate means guided for longitudinalmovement in said shell, a rigid transverse brace member extendingbetween said reinforcing members in the vicinity of said door openings,oblique brace members connecting rigidly between said forwardlyprojecting beam means and said transverse brace member, and expansiblehydraulic piston and cylinder means acting between said bearingformation and fixed to the undersides of said shell in alignment withsaid frame members for attachment thereto, side door openings extendingdown the sides of said shell from said top horizontal beam membersubstantially dividing said shell into forward and rearward portions,packer plate means guided for longitudinal movement in said shell, rigidbrace members extending obliquely downwardly and rearwardly from saidbearing formation sub stantially directly to said chassis frame members,and expansible hydraulic piston and cylinder means acting be tween saidbearing formation and said packer plate means 1tjo drive the latterrearwardly to compact refuse in said ody.

11. In a refuse compacting and transporting vehicle including a pair oflaterally spaced longitudinally extending chassis frame members, agenerally cylindrical horizontally extending body shell, rigidhorizontal central beam means extending along the top of said shell andprojecting forwardly of said body shell, said forwardly projectingportion including a bearing formation, a pair of longitudinallyextending reinforcing members fixed to the undersides of said shell inalignment with said frame members for attachment thereto, side dooropenings extending down the sides of said shell from said top horizontalbeam member substantially dividing said shell into forward and rearwardportions, packer plate means guided for longitudinal movement in saidshell, rigid brace members extending obliquely downwardly and rearwardlyfrom said bearing formation substantially directly to said chassis framemembers, and expansible hydraulic piston and cylinder means actingbetween said bearing formation and said packer plate means to drive thelatter re-arwardly to compact refuse in said body.

12. In a refuse compacting vehicle body, a longitudirection, a secondpiston and cylinder means for effectingreturn movement of saidcompacting plate means, control valve means and a source of fluidpressure leading thereto, a return circuit to said fluid pressuresource, conduits from said valve means to each of said piston andcylinder means and a third conduit therefrom comprising a bypass conduitto said return circuit, said control valve means being biased tonormally connect said fluid pressure source to said bypass conduit,means for selectively shifting said valve to connect said fluid pressuresource to either of said piston and cylinder means and simultaneouslyconnect the other piston and cylinder means tosaid return circuit, fluidpressure means for raising said discharge door means to open position, aconduit therefrom to said source of fluid pressure, and normally closedmanually openable valve means in said last mentioned conduit for raisingsaid door when said control valve means is in shifted position and forpermitting gravity closing thereof when said control valve means is inneutral position.

13. In a refuse compacting vehicle body, a longitudinally extending bodyshell of generally circular crosssection, a material discharging door atthe rear end there of, compacting plate means movable axially in saidcylindrical body shell to compact refuse material toward said door,track means in said body shell for supporting said compacting plate forsaid axial movement, said door being rearwardly convex to define achamber portion forming a rearward continuation of said body shell, andsaid track means extending rearwardly beyond said body shell and intosaid chamber portion to support said packer plate with its rear facerearwardly beyond said body shell when said discharging door is open.

14. In a refuse compacting vehicle body, a longitudinally extendingbody, means adjacent to an end thereof :for introducing refusethereinto, compacting plate means movable from said end toward theopposite end to compact the refuse toward said opposite end, fluidpressure means acting between said end of said body and said comp-actingplate means for moving the latter forcibly in a refuse compactingdirection, other fluid pressure means for effecting return movement ofsaid compacting plate means, control valve means and a source of fluidpressure leading thereto, a return circuit to sad fluid pressure source,conduits from said control valve means to each of said fluid pressuremeans and a third conduit therefrom comprising a bypass conduit to saidreturn circuit, said valve being biased to normally connect said fluidpressure source to said bypass conduit, and means for selectivelyshifting said valve to connect said fluid pressure source to either ofsaid fluid pressure means and simultaneously connect the other fluidpressure means to said return circuit.

15. In a refuse compacting vehicle body, a lon-gitudi nally extendingbody, means adjacent to an end thereof for introducing refuse thereinto,compacting plate means movable from said end toward the opposite end tocompact the refuse toward said opposite end, discharge door means hingedto the upper portion of said opposite end of said body, fluid pressuremeans acting between said end of said body and said compacting platemeans for moving the latter forcibly in a refuse compacting direction,fluid pressure means for effecting return movement of said compactingplate means, control valve means and a source of fluid pressure leadingthereto, a return circuit to said fluid pressure source, conduits fromsaid valve means to each of said fluid pressure means and a thirdconduit therefrom comprising a bypass conduit to said return circuit,said control valve means being biased to normally connect said fluidpressure source to said bypass conduit, means for selectively shiftingsaid valve to connect said fluid pressure source to either of said fluidpressure means and simultaneously connect the other piston and cylindermeans to said return circuit, fluid pressure means for raising saiddischarge door means to open position, a conduit therefrom to saidsource of fluid pressure, and normally closed manually openable valvemeans in said last mentioned conduit for raising said door when saidcontrol valve means is in shifted position and for permitting gravityclosing thereof when said control valve means is in neutral position.

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1. IN A REFUSE COMPACTING VEHICLE BODY, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING BODY,MEANS ADJACENT TO AN END THEREOF FOR INTRODUCING REFUSE THEREINTO,COMPACTING PLATE MEANS MOVABLE FROM SAID END TOWARD THE OPPOSITE END TOCOMPACT THE REFUSE TOWARD SAID OPPOSITE END, EXPANSIBLE SINGLE-ACTINGFLUID PRESSURE PISTON AND CYLINDER MEANS ACTING BETWEEN SAID END OF SAIDBODY AND SAID COMPACTING PLATE MEANS FOR MOVING THE LATTER FORCIBLY IN AREFUSE COMPACTING DIRECTION, A SECOND RELATIVELY SHORT STROKE PISTON ANDCYLINDER MEANS, AND MOTION MULTIPLYING MEANS ACTING BE-